


undelivered, lost

by Lamuerte



Series: light-borne [3]
Category: Destiny (Video Games), EXO (Band)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Part of light-borne universe, collection of drabbles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:40:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24018376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lamuerte/pseuds/Lamuerte
Summary: lost scenes and moments from the events before, during, and after light-borne.i. brothers don't stay mad at brothers (byun brothers)ii. ghost stories (mongryong + the ghosts)iii. i forget you used to be a warlord (krisbaek)iv. we are pawns no more (baby speaker + baby thief)
Relationships: Byun Baekbeom/Original Female Character(s), Byun Baekhyun & Byun Baekbeom, Byun Baekhyun/Kim Taeyeon, Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Byun Baekhyun/Wu Yi Fan | Kris
Series: light-borne [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1730800
Comments: 50
Kudos: 22





	1. brothers don't stay mad at brothers

**Author's Note:**

> dedicated to slxxpinglily, who suggested the prompt. And dedicated to my own sister, because we have 9 years between us and a whole lot of friendship anyway.

Seven years was a pretty big age difference. Or at least, in the beginning, it was.

When Baekbeom was learning how to write and how to read and how to do simple math and playing with the kids in the neighbourhood, Baekhyun was a new-born, merely gurgling and kicking his tiny legs up and batting his tiny fists around, taking in the world with big brown eyes.

When Baekbeom was becoming aware of how girls _didn’t_ have cooties and that he wanted to impress them with all the acrobatics he could do on the monkey bars, Baekhyun kept crying so his brother would instead play _with him_ , because he was his biggest hero and simply handing him the toys wasn’t cutting it.

When Baekbeom was considered fit and ready to begin accompanying their dad outside of the Last City, Baekhyun still threw tantrums if his plate had cucumbers and still sang songs as he skipped in their building’s stairs.

By the time Baekhyun reached thirteen and was allowed in missions with their father, a little hyperactive puppy in the backseat of the Cartesian/KO, Baekbeom considered himself a relatively seasoned veteran of twenty years of age. Baekbeom had gone through first loves, second loves, heartbreak, loss, drunken antics, adventures in the wild, making deals with Fallen, shooting Fallen, fighting with his parents and forgiving them, figuring himself out— Baekhyun was barely getting started.

Baekbeom loved Baekhyun, truly, but it was hard to relate to a kid. They didn't see eye to eye often, and Baekbeom was often mad at the boy. He was his baby brother, after all, emphasis on the _baby_.

With the death of their father and the loss of Baekbeom’s eye, though, the score began to even out. When Baekbeom became somewhat of a hermit, Baekhyun became a social butterfly. As Baekbeom grew more insecure in his scarred appearance and could barely handle people staring at him, Baekhyun became taller and more handsome and confident in his skin. All those times Baekbeom had comforted his young brother became moments in which Baekhyun comforted his older brother instead.

He taught Baekhyun a couple of tricks on how to talk to girls and boys and everything in between, because Baekhyun didn’t discriminate— but it was Baekhyun who dragged Baekbeom to a bar, bought him liquid courage, and pushed him into the arms of a beautiful woman who’d become Baekbeom’s wife.

Baekhyun and he were more equals, despite the age difference— even twenty-three and thirty was still quite a leap. Their life experience, though vastly different, had a common core, and as adults, Baekbeom had enjoyed getting to know his brother and become his friend.

But some things never changed.

Had Baekbeom made emphasis on the _baby_ part?

It was the sound of a ship right outside the house Baekbeom and Yeongja were renovating in the EDZ in the middle of the night what woke the elder Byun first. He groaned first, as he realised that they had visitors. By his side, Yeongja merely snored, unbothered. Still a bit drunk from their festivities, Baekbeom had to fumble over his nightstand to locate his Bad News XF4354 –an experimental prototype Ada-1 had given him as a wedding present— and to then locate his pants.

By the time Baekbeom had stumbled down the stairs and not either fallen or shot himself by accident, there was banging on his door, and a familiar voice yelling.

“Baekbeommie! Yeongja-bee!” Baekhyun was shouting. “Open up!”

“Baekhyunnie?” Baekbeom called back with surprise and checked his watch— it was almost four in the morning onto the New Year, which meant it was nearly seven in the Last City. Baekbeom opened his door, greeted by the sight of a clearly drunk and clearly sad Baekhyun. “What are you doing here?”

“Happy New Year, brother!” Baekhyun was exclaiming, throwing himself in Baekbeom’s arms to hug him tightly. Baekbeom reciprocated, but gagged— Traveller, Baekhyun kind of reeked.

“Happy New Year— did you drink and fly, Baekhyun?” Baekbeom asked with growing alarm and anger. Baekhyun hummed.

“Taeyeon broke up with me.”

Well— at least that explained the drinking. Baekbeom was going to give Baekhyun a stern talking to in the morning, though right now, he couldn't be that mad when his baby brother resembled a kicked puppy so much. At least the Skulking Fox had great automatic flying— it had probably flown itself while Baekhyun drank on his own. In fact, the craft was still on, sad music blasting out of it. Damn.

“For good this time?” Baekbeom asked, and Baekhyun hummed again and hugged Baekbeom tighter. Baekbeom sighed, partly relieved and partly disappointed. He liked Taeyeon, but Baekhyun and she hadn’t been visibly happy for a while now. “Let’s get you to bed, Kyoong. Can you tell your ship to shut up?”

Baekhyun obliged, lifting his hand with the key codes and the Skulking Fox finally shut down, its cockpit closing down slowly. Snow wouldn’t do it any good, after all.

Baekbeom guided Baekhyun to the kitchen first, getting him a glass of water. Then, both of them hardly made it up the stairs, with Baekhyun –clearly more drunk than Baekbeom had estimated at first— tripping on the steps more than once.

“Have some dignity, please,” The elder Byun begged when Baekhyun resorted to crawling on the last metres to his room. “This is like, your seventh break up with the same person. Get a grip.”

“It’s the eighth! And it’s the final one! Way harder than the rest!” Baekhyun corrected, slurring every word, from the floor, but he had reached the bed pretty quickly like that. Baekbeom was impressed. He watched as Baekhyun climbed onto the bed. Watched as Baekhyun kicked off his boots with surprising ease. Watched as Baekhyun began pulling his poncho over his head and got all tangled up in it, and whimpered. “Help.”

Baekbeom stifled a laugh. He moved to leave his gun and the glass of water on the nightstand. He was reminded that Baekhyun needed a little night lamp. He pulled on Baekhyun’s poncho and threw it on the ground.

“Come hug me, now,” Baekhyun commanded, eyes already closed. “I need to cry with my big brother.”

Let it be known that Baekhyun Byun never held back his emotions and needs. Baekbeom was glad he at least had _that_ important life skill.

He went to lie down on the other side of the bed, making sure to get Baekhyun and himself under the sheets because it was freezing, and they hadn’t installed any heating outside of Baekbeom’s and Yeongja’s bedroom just yet. He did hug Baekhyun as soon as he could, and his baby brother snuggled into his chest, promptly beginning to cry.

Baekbeom sighed. A baby indeed, he thought, as he petted Baekhyun’s auburn hair.

“I-I thought I w-was gonna marry her,” Baekhyun confessed between actual hiccups, which Baekbeom wasn’t sure if they were due to tears or to the alcohol. “W-We were gonna b-be like Yeongja and you, b-but we would totally k-keep flying b-because I-I-I can’t live without that.”

“But wasn’t that the problem?” Baekbeom wondered, lacking tact when he wasn’t exactly sober either and it was so late— or so early. “She wanted to settle down, and you’re… Not that kind of guy.”

Baekhyun cried for a while, more silently, even if he still had the hiccups. Once he calmed down a little, Baekbeom offered him the water. Baekhyun took a small sip.

“I guess I’m not,” Baekhyun admitted at last, more resigned to his fate than anything. “But I wish I was. For her.”

Baekbeom clicked his tongue, gently patting the crown of Baekhyun’s head. “No— in this household, we don’t change what makes us _us_ for someone else.”

“But wouldn’t it be for the better?” Baekhyun countered. “Wouldn’t I be happier if I could just— sit still?”

“If you could be happier sitting still, Baekhyunnie, you wouldn’t be Baekhyun Byun.” Baekbeom declared. “Taeyeon knows that. And she wasn’t about to keep you from being _you_. It’s okay, if you just didn’t love her like that anymore. I’m sure she’ll stick around, and you’ll find someone who wants to see the stars with you.”

“Someone like Kris?” Baekhyun wondered in the smallest voice possible. Baekbeom, fully aware on the crush that Baekhyun had nursed since his teenage years for the Guardian and not liking it one bit, grumbled.

“I guess they could be like Kris,” He acquiesced grumpily, only because Baekhyun was sad. “But honestly, I think you could do with someone… Sweeter. Kinder. Younger.”

Baekhyun laughed. It was a wet sound, but he didn’t have the hiccups anymore.

Eventually, Baekhyun began to make the tell-tale whimpers that indicated he was falling asleep. Baekbeom smiled despite himself— Baekhyun was brimming with such vitality, his body fought sleep ever since he was a child. It was surprising, because whenever Baekhyun allowed himself to have downtime, the thing he did the most was sleep.

Baekbeom pulled away from their snuggle to be able to examine his brother in the dark of the night. Baekhyun had grown a lot. It was only yesterday, Baekbeom thought, that he had been introduced to his baby of a brother, just born and with eyes still closed, all red and a bit ugly and very tiny. He had started crying back then, when Baekbeom cooed at him, and a little Baekbeom had gotten mad at the baby.

Now, Baekhyun was even a little bit taller than Baekbeom and definitely stronger, despite their seven-year difference. Baekbeom still got mad when Baekhyun cried. Mostly when he was unsure on how to make him stop, but it had only taken him twenty years or so to figure it out.

Baekhyun could grow all he wanted, Baekbeom reckoned as he drifted off to sleep. He would still be his baby brother, no matter what happened. Emphasis on the _baby_.


	2. ghost stories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone Mongryong has ever known is dead and their bones are dust! It is time to make new friends!

How did artificial intelligence make friends?

“By inviting all my peers to a party, of course!” Mongryong announced happily. “What do you think, Ink?”

Ink, the only Friendly Ghost who seemed to find Mongryong’s presence genuinely enjoyable rather than a curiosity —and Mongryong was still 87.4% unsure of that statement— let out an unconvinced sound.

“I’m not the right Ghost to ask,” Ink admitted. “I’m not big on _peers_.”

“Wow! I find your disregard for something I have craved for five hundred years appalling!” Mongryong replied, unable to lose the cheerful tone. The glitch in his mood modules was one of Mongryong’s most appealing yet distressing traits! Oh no! There it went again! “Perhaps you would enjoy your fellow Friendly Ghosts’ companies more if you came to my party and mingled!”

“If you’ll invite me, I’ll go,” Ink assured Mongryong. “Plus— Kyungsoo told me to keep Pepper entertained while they’re gone in the morning.” The Ghost paused as he realised something. “Oh. And keep _you_ entertained, too. Oops.”

“I will be thoroughly entertained if I’m in a party, Friendly Ghost Ink!” Mongryong declared, because he did not shy away from opportunities. “I must get to know all the Friendly Ghosts, so they will like me and become my new friends!”

It was a fool-proof plan! The Captain would be proud! However, Captain Baekhyun had had a pretty rough day— so maybe it was wiser if Mongryong kept his party plans to himself. He _had_ nearly died, used strange Darkness powers Mongryong didn’t comprehend on Sweet Guardian Kai, cried a worrying number of tears, and was currently talking to Handsome Guardian Chanyeol outside, all huddled up together. Mongryong could see them from the window.

Mongryong may only have 0.008% knowledge on the subject of love, but even he knew when to give a budding romance some privacy. Friendly Ghost Toben had begrudgingly instructed him about this in Io only yesterday. Yes! The Captain would appreciate Mongryong becoming more independent! He was growing up very fast!

“Count me in, then,” Ink chuckled. “I’ll make an effort for you.”

“Neat!” Mongryong exclaimed. Now, he only had to invite the others!

“Absolutely not,” Pepper said, incensed yet quiet. She gave out a very depressing aura! “ _Your Captain_ could very likely kill _my Guardian_. Do you even know what he’s sacrificing—?”

“—Don’t listen to her,” Toben interrupted pointedly. The Ghost and the not-quite-Ghost had _somewhat_ bonded over Handsome Guardian Chanyeol’s starstruck devotion to the Captain, but things were still terse— like Mongryong was a puppy Toben had to coddle. “I’ll make sure she’s there.”

“Sure,” Monggu agreed only slightly hesitantly, which was a victory within itself! “If you tell me what you did to win over Ink so fast, I’ll go to your party.”

“Uhm,” Vivi was reluctant. “I don’t know…”

“Friendly Ghost Vivi, I _will_ resort to begging if I must!” Mongryong warned the little light joyfully. “Commencing begging protocols— please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Plea—”

“—Okay, no need for that!” Vivi interrupted him with nervous laughter. “I-I’ll go. Just. Stop screaming.”

“May I be invited to your party as well, Mongryong?” Byul, the eldest of the Ghosts around them, asked Mongryong kindly before he got the chance to approach her. Mongryong could hardly contain the excitement! His party was the talk of the town already! What an achievement!

“Of course, Wise Ghost Byul!” Mongryong hadn’t gotten to chat much with her, only meeting her in this Farm, but she exuded age and class. A glitch had nearly tagged her as Old Woman Byul, but Mongryong was getting better at avoiding possibly offensive nicknames. “You can be the guest of honour! You’re like a queen!”

“May I bring my princess and my prince with me, then?” Byul wondered, amused and pleased at the comparison.

Mongryong nodded vigorously— a movement he hadn’t quite mastered yet and made him a bit dizzy. “Of course!”

The princess turned out to be a neon helix Ghost called Tan, who kept to herself almost zealously. The prince was RouRou, whom Mongryong had had the (dis!)pleasure of acquainting in Nessus.

“Of course,” RouRou said kindly. “I’ll be on my best behaviour.”

“Will I be welcome there?” Tan, voice soft and shy, asked meekly.

“Everyone is welcome at my party, Timid Ghost Tan!” Mongryong exclaimed with strength. “No matter what strange bad blood you may have between each other! You may reroute your hatred for other Ghosts by focusing all eyes on me and my dazzling personality instead!”

“Oh, this might be interesting,” Cat mused pensively. “Sure. I’ll be there.”

“You want _me_ at your little party?” Intimidating Ghost Xiaotong parroted with a hint of well-intentioned mockery, if such a thing existed. “The other Ghosts might not take kindly to my presence there.”

“It is because you have the prettiest shell of them all!” Mongryong hypothesised. “Jealousy is a powerful thing. Show them it does not bother you!”

“Oh, I _love_ parties!” Candy enthused sweetly, just as thrilled as Mongryong, which made Mongryong feel happier! She was a very pretty and kind Ghost! Mongryong updated her tag from Friendly Ghost Candy to Sweetie Ghost Candy. “I can help you plan it! Where are we hosting it? What will we offer as food? What are we gonna use as decorations?”

Those were very good questions! Mongryong looked around, scanning the Captain’s Brother’s house for a suitable place to hold his party. It would be a breakfast party, if Ink needed to keep both Pepper and Mongryong entertained during the morning, for whatever unknown reason. Were breakfast parties a thing? He could not recall many cheery events happening at mornings, save for corporative birthdays among the Exodus Black’s crew. Mongryong shut down the memory lane protocols, because he wasn’t in the mood to think about the people he missed so much. Grieving was a full-time occupation!

“Do you have something in mind, Sweetie Ghost Candy?” Mongryong asked. “I have very little previous experience regarding parties and friends!”

“Then thank the Traveller you have me,” Candy teased, coy. “I happen to be an expert! We need to get ourselves a venue first!”

The Captain’s Brother looked just like the Captain— except of course, for the missing eye and the faded yet still prominent scars that Mongryong could analyse had been caused by very sharp claws of an unknown creature. Also, he did not have the same chaotic energy of the Captain, which was a welcomed break for Mongryong, since he was very chaotic himself despite his structured and well-defined algorithms! He could not help it! He had taken a lot of damage over the centuries! But Mongryong digressed!

“You could use the barn, if you don’t mind the animals?” The Captain’s Brother suggested with a kind smile. “As for decorations, we don’t really have a lot of that, uh… Oh!” The man perked up, smile growing a bit. “We made some paper crowns for Taehyung’s birthday party a few weeks back— maybe they’re a bit big for you, though…”

“Captain’s Brother, we will not know until we try!” Mongryong chirped happily. “Take us to the paper crowns!”

“You can call me Baekbeom, you know?” The Captain’s Brother told the AI in a Friendly Ghost’s body, side-stepping the Queen –a creature the Captain had called a War Beast, and Mongryong personally found very much peaceful and not very beastly at all, and Mongryong’s threat sensors were _particularly_ sensitive, so he would know!— and led them to a small cabinet under the stairs.

The paper crown was placed over Candy by the Captain’s Brother and promptly fell down to the ground, way too big for her. The Captain’s Brother snorted.

“Okay, yeah, too big,” The Captain’s Brother observed, and then rummaged through the box we had pulled the paper crowns out from. He took our sheets of silky paper. “I guess I could make some of your own size, though.”

“We can help!” Candy chirped.

“How?” Mongryong asked. “I regret to inform you we do not have hands!”

That had been how Mongryong found himself with Sweetie Ghost Candy and the Captain’s Brother in the living room, as Guardians planned many things in the kitchen. The Captain’s Brother used scissors to cut the tiny paper crowns, while Sweetie Ghost Candy used a hidden laser within her shell to replicate the human’s movements. Mongryong located his own laser and attempted to do the same, but the bolt of light bounced off the Cabal shield that served as a coffee table and tore into the roof.

“That’s nothing a rug won’t hide,” The Captain’s Brother appeased the not-quite-Ghost as he cut, unperturbed and a bit distracted. His attention was on the Guardians in his kitchen, it seemed, and their constant mumbling.

“I promise you, Sungwoo will be here—”

“—What worth do your promises have—”

“—A beacon should call for his attention, but we must be—”

“—We have to reconvene—”

“The Captain had assured me Ghosts were defenceless!” Mongryong said, trying not to eavesdrop because Friendly Ghost Toben had said it was not nice to eavesdrop on others— such as the Captain and Handsome Guardian Chanyeol. “This light bolt seems to be very dangerous, Sweetie Ghost Candy!”

Candy giggled, expertly directing her own light bolt over the paper to make precise shapes. “I mean, most of us don’t know how to use it. But we need to have a way to protect ourselves— especially when you’re unmatched.”

“Unmatched?”

“When you’re a Ghost without a Guardian,” Candy relayed. “And you’re on your own, searching for the right person… It can be pretty dangerous.”

Though the Kris Wu and Friendly Ghost RouRou had explained the basics of Guardians and Ghosts to Mongryong, this was turning out to be new information. He uploaded it immediately to his library of knowledge.

“Sweetie Ghost Candy!” Mongryong decided in a split second. “I wish to learn one hundred percent of the information available on Friendly Ghosts, so I can properly assimilate with my peers!”

The Captain’s Brother smiled at that, although he didn’t say a thing. If Candy has a face, Mongryong hypothesised she would be smiling too, doting.

“You should prepare a set of questions,” She teased, and Mongryong’s humour modules were intact and therefore he could tell it was just a joke— but.

He merely hummed, as he watched the human and the Ghost finish the paper crowns.

He mulled over what he wanted to ask as the Captain’s Brother created garlands with the leftover silky paper, as Candy and he decorated the barn with them, and as the Kris Wu came to kick them out because he needed the barn for “official Vanguard business”. He still thought about it as Candy finalised the last details, such as sending an official digital invitation that could be projected in pretty pastel colours, as Toben ushered him away from the Captain’s room and into Handsome Guardian’s Chanyeol bed instead, in silence so they wouldn’t disturb the Guardians trying to sleep around them.

Mongryong didn’t stop processing until it was dawn, and Ink was waking Tough Guardian D.O up. By the time Candy was floating into their bunk, excitedly whispering about the party and for them to make their way to the barn, Mongryong had about 10,243 questions about the nature of Friendly Ghosts.

In the end, Mongryong was forced to reduce his pool of questions to only one.

“Sweetie Ghost Candy has informed me that these types of questions might make you uncomfortable and put a damper on my party!” He revealed happily, bright pink paper crown in place. “So I have only left the absolute essential!”

He already considered the party a success on the sole grounds that all of his guests had attended— from Friendly Ghost Toben, to Angry Ghost Pepper, to Wise Ghost Byul, they were all here! And they looked very cute in their mismatched paper crowns! The garlands were still in place, the Kris Wu had left the barn a bit cleaner than what they had, and Mongryong got to show off some soft vintage music his previous Captain —Captain Jacobson, before Captain Baekhyun— enjoyed very much.

The Friendly Ghosts were even getting along— while Angry Ghost Pepper insisted on _not_ enjoying herself, Friendly Ghost Toben and Friendly Ghost Monggu had no such qualms even if they stuck close to her. Friendly Ghost Ink had somehow fallen into conversation with Friendly Ghost Cat, while Friendly Ghost RouRou actually danced and twirled with Sweetie Ghost Candy —a rival for her affections! How sordid! Ghost life was very dramatic!— while Friendly Ghost Vivi and Wise Ghost Byul engaged in story-telling. Timid Ghost Tan seemed very wary, particularly of Intimidating Ghost Xiaotong. It was funny to Mongryong, because Intimidating Ghost Xiaotong seemed just as wary of Timid Ghost Tan! How very interesting!

“Go ahead, then,” Xiaotong was the one to answer, hiding her nervousness with amusement for Mongryong. “What do you want to know?”

“Question number one— where do Friendly Ghosts come from?” Mongryong asked cheerfully.

“The Traveller,” It was Cat who answered in a surprisingly kind and informative manner. “It released us all as its dying breath, to protect Humanity and find heroes that would make sure to follow the path of Light and help its children.”

“Very noble!” Mongryong commended. He couldn’t imagine what the Traveller was like. For all his modules, visual image representation was not one of them. Besides, everyone spoke of it as if it was obvious! He really should have left the questions about the Traveller in his set and eliminate the one about what Friendly Ghosts ate. What a lack of vision!

“Yeah,” Cat agreed, and then watched Mongryong for a moment. He added in a questioning voice: “Do you _know_ the Traveller?”

“Absolutely not, Friendly Ghost Cat!” Mongryong replied easily.

“Really?” Vivi perked up, surprised. “Didn’t they ever— I don’t actually know how it would work. Uhm. Upload the information to you?”

“May I remind you I am Mongryong?” Mongryong offered, and then glitched as he did every time he introduced himself. “Call me Mongryong!”

“…Yes,” Vivi said, not quite following. “I know that.”

“I am the Exodus Black’s Failsafe!” Mongryong continued, undeterred. “I was only activated when we ran into trouble in the form of Unstable Centaur seven-oh-six-six Nessus! I do not have knowledge of things that go beyond the Exodus programme and all its related information! But I am trying to learn as fast as I can!”

“Wait a second,” Monggu was the one to chime in then, confused. “The Exodus programme? Like, the colony ships? From the Cosmodrome in Old Russia?”

“The very same, Friendly Ghost Monggu!” Mongryong responded, secretly relieved that there was something about him that was interesting. He could feel singular eyes all on him, and for once, they weren’t disgusted! Only curious! Yay!

“That means you’re older than us,” Byul remarked with pleasure, perhaps at finding someone older than herself. Only she could make her duckling yellow paper crown look positively regal! “You’re our senior, Mongryong.”

“Our senior?!” Pepper blurted out. “That would imply he’s one of us—”

“—Pepper, who hurt you?” Candy snarked. Pepper, flustered, only muttered something while Mongryong felt something warm inside him. Where was this strange feeling coming from?! Who knew! It was pleasant!

“You’re even older than Tan.” Byul continued, undisturbed. The gasps were collective— as Tan lowered her gaze.

“Wait, _Tan_ is older than _you_?!” Toben questioned, flabbergasted, and immediately turned into a mess when Byul sharply turned towards him. “I mean— not that you’re old, Byul, I mean, we’re technically all the same age, we were born at the same time—”

“It’s true,” Xiaotong confirmed with delight, teasing but not in a mean way. “Our dearest Tan has been with the same Guardian for the longest time. She found Xiumin the week following the Collapse!”

Tan hesitated at being directly referenced by Xiaotong, which Mongryong could relate to, because she was Very Intimidating! But eventually, Tan seemed to take in stride, and nodded slowly.

“That’s right,” She confirmed, wistful. “I have… Followed Xiumin since the very beginning. Xiaotong found Luhan not that long after. Right?”

Xiaotong seemed pleased at the acknowledgement. “I did! We used to have fun, didn’t we? Those early Last City days were the best.”

Mongryong was very pleased at this bonding! His party was going so well!

“I can’t believe we’re coming up on five hundred years of knowing each other!” RouRou observed with impression. “Byul, Tan, Xiaotong, Cat, and me! That’s the original crew for the ages!”

“That’s a very long time to know each other!” Mongryong commented merrily. “I can only wish I could know someone for such an extended period of time!”

Sensing he had stepped on someone’s sensitivities at that –maybe they weren’t as friendly as Mongryong had presumed! Oh no! Assumption was terrible!— he rambled on.

“Technically, I have known some Vex robots for that same amount of time,” He admitted happily. “But also, I despise them very much! And they do not talk! I can identify most of their war cries and separate them from their greetings, however! There’s this one greeting in particular that is very similar to an exclamation for aggression and I’d really appreciate it if someone else stepped in to talk right now!”

It was Candy who came to his salvation. She was such a sweetie!

“Meanwhile, Tao and I have only been together for three years!” She sighed, in a dramatic way. “He’s a lot of fun, though. I’m glad I waited for him.”

“I’m glad I waited for Sehun, too,” Vivi agreed. “It’s only been five months, but— I don’t think I’d ever see myself with anyone else. Well, clearly I never did.”

“Sometimes it’s better to be patient and wait for the right Guardian,” Toben mused, a bit morose, even if his blue paper crown made him look somewhat comical. “There’s no point in being too hasty and choosing someone who might… Not take the Light in the right way.”

“Yeah, your first Guardian was terrible,” RouRou interjected, and when all the Ghosts turned to him, he seemed to regret his words immediately. “Oh! I’m so sorry! I didn’t really mean to put you on the spot like that, Toben! I-I thought everyone knew?”

Mongryong tilted his head, which meant tilting his whole body, to the side in surprise, his own paper crown nearly falling off his head. First Guardian? This was very irregular!

“That’s okay,” Toben answered, now that he was the centre of attention. “I mean… It’s not a secret. Plus, she might be dead now, I’ll never know. There’s nothing we can do about it.”

“I did not know Friendly Ghosts could have more than one Guardian!” Mongryong chimed in, surprised. Toben hesitated, but then hummed.

“We can. And sometimes we make the wrong choices.”

Friendly Ghost Toben actually seemed ashamed. Everyone else was staring at him. Mongryong would not stand for this!

“I lost my first Captain too!” Mongryong revealed. “Captain Jacobson was an admirable man— but he abandoned his crew during very trying times! Not knowing what happened to him has been very hard on me, even after all these centuries! It is very difficult to grieve, even if logic tell us the most reasonable outcome must be death!”

Toben, at the very least, looked a little bit like he appreciated Mongryong’s efforts. Good! He had no other way to relate!

“You’re right,” Toben conceded. “And I don’t regret finding Chanyeol. He’s a much better Guardian, even if we don’t always agree.”

“I do not regret naming the Captain my Captain!” Mongryong also acquiesced happily. “Even if he’s a little bit very impulsive!”

And also contaminated with extra-terrestrial, unidentifiable, completely unnatural, and very dark radiation! But Mongryong could only say that in his metaphorical mind! Damn those security protocols! He could not warn anyone! And he could only be cheerful about it!

“I lost my first Guardian, too,” Pepper confessed, softly and empathically. “One of those… Places where we just can’t get them back from. It took me a very long time to move on. I guess that’s why I’m scared anything will happen to Chen this time around.”

“We have never been in a similar situation,” Byul reminded the others, which had grown more solemn. “Never have we been so close to death as right now. But we’re also very close to victory, if we play our cards right and trust the Traveller and its guidance.”

“We may fear for our Guardians, and maybe some of us don’t even really see eye to eye with them,” Tan followed with a self-deprecating chuckle. “But we’ve made it this far. They’ve made it this far.”

“Also— Mongryong, you’re a feat of engineering,” Monggu complimented suddenly. “I’m actually really glad Baekhyun found you. He’s unorthodox, but so are you… And it’s refreshing!”

“It really is,” Ink agreed. “I’m happy for it, too. And I’m also starting to see the point in mingling with my peers.”

“I told you peers are very important, Friendly Ghost Ink!” Mongryong asserted, but he was pleased. His non-existent heart was fluttering!

“I’m happy we’re getting to talk like this,” Vivi added. “I thought you guys might kinda… Hate Sehun and I over having the Light. But you’ve been really nice!”

“Kris is super jealous, but he’s also jealous of Chanyeol, and jealous of anyone who _isn’t_ the Vanguard right now,” RouRou confessed, rolling his eye. “I think we’re good!”

“Oh, Chanyeol is so jealous,” Toben interjected, more cheerful this time around. “But not me. I’m just happy to be out of the spotlight!”

“Tao is fortunately so into laying low,” Candy exclaimed in relief. “Honestly, it might be harder to kick him back into gear once we regain the Light!”

With that, the Friendly Ghosts launched into gossiping about their Guardians, and they even made sure to include Mongryong. He did not have much to complain about the Captain, but he did mention some of his funnier quirks, like how he swayed side to side when talking to others, or how the Häkke Vimana had been littered with candy wrappers shoved into compartments, or how he made the most intense puppy eyes at Handsome Guardian Chanyeol to the point Mongryong was getting embarrassed.

Everyone was happy. Mongryong was happy. The party was turning out to be amazing! His objective of making friends was looking to be complete! He wondered if it would be premature to mark it as such, but then Candy sided up to him and whispered sweetly:

“It’s really great, we’re all bonding so much!” Sweetie Ghost Candy gushed, and oh, Mongryong felt very over the moon with her praise! These feelings were very foreign! But he liked feeling things that weren’t concern, sadness, or loneliness! Even if they were filtered by his happiness module, they still often hurt!

“I wouldn’t have been able to do this without you, Sweetie Ghost Candy!” Mongryong thanked her genuinely.

Nothing would put him down today! Not even when the party was rudely interrupted by Commander Suho and Sly Guardian Lay, who had been looking all over for their Ghosts. Not even when Suho told Byul he needed her very sternly, even if Cat was allowed to remain. Not even knowing the Captain was supposed to be back, and he should go meet him!

He would much rather spend time with his new friends!

“I think they can survive a little longer without us,” It was Toben who suggested a bit conspiratorially, and everyone agreed readily. “Wanna go hang out by the river? It’s really pretty over there!”

“I would be honoured to, Friendly Ghost Toben!” Mongryong immediately said, not one to pass opportunities for friendship.

He might not be a traditional Ghost, nor meet the minimal requirements to be one, but it wouldn’t matter, if he had this group of friends to ease him into this new life.

For the first time in five hundred years, Mongryong couldn’t wait for the future. Yay!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dedicated to BlueAdvent, who wanted to know what Ghosts did in that breakfast party!
> 
> I'm working on the last chapter of light-borne and the sequel, unnamed yet. I was waiting until today though, because Destiny 2's new season came out and the future is a bit more defined, so I know where we'll take Baekhyun and the gang next!


	3. i forget you used to be a warlord

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Kris Wu had to begin somewhere. Baekhyun was the ending.

Five hundred and one years before the birth of Baekhyun Byun, the Kris Wu opens his eyes for the first time.

He’s not _the_ Kris Wu yet— not even close. What he is, at this point in time, is one of the very first Risen. It’s so soon after the Collapse, so very soon, that the sky is still only Darkness, and the earth is devoid of anything reminiscent of life. Beyond the black, black clouds, the man swears he can make out pyramids just as dark in the heavens above, but this is a memory he only recalls five hundred and one years later.

He has very few things on his person— heavy, yet rotting padded clothing, a card for something called library with what his Ghost claims in his face and a name –Wu Yifan—, and a bottle with stale water. They’re in a mountain, and it’s nothing but snow for kilometres. Wu Yifan remembers nothing and everything he sees is meaningless to him.

But he does wish to survive.

Everything is so new, his Ghost can barely explain his own existence. Wu Yifan takes to calling him RouRou, but he doesn’t remember how the name came to be. There is no word for Guardians yet, not in the way they will be, but RouRou says he is a Ghost and he comes from the Traveller. He can bring Wu Yifan back from any death and heal any injury. Wu Yifan has powers from the Sun, if he were so inclined to use them. That’s all they have, and all they go off on.

Wu Yifan dies many times on his way down from the mountain. He falls. He freezes. He starves. RouRou brings him back every time. There is nothing but RouRou and him for a long time, so long that the air eventually clears and instead of perpetual night, they’re greeted by cold pale sunlight for some hours.

They find others in the valley. The people there are barely settled, but they are desperate and starving. Berries are the only thing that is readily available. From the kindness of their hearts, they still allow Wu Yifan to tag along with them. It doesn’t take long to figure out they’re eating those that don’t survive the harsh conditions, and Wu Yifan is willing to understand until they attempt to kill _him_ , able-bodied and healthy as he is.

Even at his weakest, Wu Yifan is incredibly strong. They don’t stand a chance, and Wu Yifan kills with his bare hands, with blades made of fire, with the gun their leader carried. He has no mercy for those who have wronged him.

Except for the children.

Two girls and one boy. The oldest girl is thirteen, while the other is six. The boy is somewhere in between, maybe ten. They’re not siblings by blood, but by bond. They try to protect each other from Wu Yifan, the man who has righteously murdered their parents.

He feels compassion. But their world is cruel, and he is a harsh man.

“You can stay with me and I will protect you,” He offers. “Or you can die out there.”

They choose to stay.

They’re scared of him, but their will to survive matches his. They take weapons and clothing from who was their family with little qualms. They follow him without complaint, and eat berries. They like RouRou best, even if they don’t understand the Ghost’s purpose. The boy, called Jinju, is good at spotting lizards, birds, rodents— the eldest girl, Venus, kills them all without hesitance. Their sustenance is important. It is Wu Yifan who kills the bigger animals, if they ever find any.

The youngest girl, Kris, is his favourite. She has a spark. She is curious, even if far too serious for such a young child. She finds them a cabin when she gets lost, right by a stream that crosses the valley, with enough space for the four —five— of them.

They grow up in that cabin.

Wu Yifan decides the valley belongs to them. On the few occasions they see others, he makes sure to always kill at least one— whoever looks the strongest. He offers the rest the same deal he had given Jinju, Venus, and Kris— stay and obey him, and he will protect them. If not, they were more than welcome to perish.

More than one tries to kill him, and are horrified when he always comes back to life. They fear his fire, they fear his gun, they fear Wu Yifan. Most of them stay, because living in fear is the better alternative.

In the small, authoritative community Wu Yifan builds around the cabin he shares with his children, stories begin to blossom. The elder speak of the terrible black cloud that consumed everything, of the Traveller that has forsaken them all, of others like Wu Yifan who will not die. Some people have held on to animals they can breed and feed off, and it helps. A woman joins them that understands the cycles of the berries. Their lifestyle is frugal, and a little bit violent, but Wu Yifan’s children never have to taste the flesh of their fellow men again.

They are taken too soon.

Venus is a firecracker, arrogant, and defies Wu Yifan when she is old enough. Wu Yifan accepts her challenge and snaps her neck, even if it pains him deeply.

Jinju never forgives him for this, even if he never says so. The boy stews in his pain for what must be years, and eventually, refuses to eat or to sleep until he grows far too weak to go on.

Kris is not kind nor sweet. She does not comfort Wu Yifan but understands. Their world is cruel, and Wu Yifan is a tyrant— her will to survive remains despite this. She never leaves his side yet never fears to tell him what she truly thinks of him. She is amused by RouRou and his antics. She becomes a fierce protector, a mediator between Wu Yifan and those under his double-edged protection. She never takes a lover, nor bears any children. She has a spark that no one can put out— not even Wu Yifan, and she remains until her hair begins to grey and Wu Yifan stays the same as when he had met her.

When he buries her, he takes her name, and becomes Kris Wu.

Four hundred and thirty-six years before Baekhyun Byun is born, Kris Wu comes across his first Byun.

One of Kris Wu’s guards has captured this man in the middle of the valley that belongs to his people. The man is armed to the teeth, but Kris Wu’s attention is called to his sniper rifle, body hidden under a torn-up poncho that was once bright lilac and red. He had a thick, matted black beard, and skin scarred and sunkissed. Kris Wu’s guard says the man had been planting something— flowers, he told the guard. This flabbergasted the guard enough for her to bring the man to Kris Wu, instead of killing him for trespassing on their territory.

“What is your name?” Kris Wu asks from his throne.

“Joowon Byun,” The man says gruffly.

“What are you doing in my valley?” Kris Wu queries.

“I plant blue flowers along the roads,” The man answers.

Joowon Byun calls himself a Ranger. He follows Ayane Takanome. Their duty is to lead those who wish to pilgrimage towards the Traveller and protect them from whatever harm they may find. The flowers –of a blue, bright colour, that will withstand any winter— will serve Joowon’s purpose when he dies, watching over those who walk the roads he makes.

Kris Wu doesn’t think much of this. He’s amused, more than anything else. He sees little point on reaching the Traveller, which he knows rests on the other side of the mountains that circle their valley.

“Do you know who I am?” He asks Joowon Byun.

“You’re a War Lord,” Joowon tells him simply. He is a fearless man, because he smirks at Kris Wu roguishly, ducking his head. “But I hope you’re a reasonable one.”

Kris Wu may be a brutal man, but he is reasonable. He allows Joowon Byun to continue with his task and offers him food and lodge that the man graciously accepts. In exchange, he tells Kris Wu stories— of how he was born under the Traveller’s protection, of Ayane Takanome’s message of hope, of his children Bonhwa, Chinhwa, and Jaehwa and his lover, Shamise. Bonhwa and Jaehwa are Rangers like him, while Shamise and Chinhwa wait for him under the Traveller with the pilgrims and refugees that find them.

“But I will die in the roads,” Joowon says like it’s a promise. “I will never return to my home.”

He tells Kris Wu of the Risen— men and women that have been brought from the dead by the Traveller and its Ghosts, for a purpose that is yet unknown. Many of them have taken a path similar to Kris Wu— taking over land, forcing the people to pay tribute to them, punishing those who refuse harshly. Those are the ones Joowon calls War Lords, because they wage petty wars between them for power.

“It’s meaningless,” Joowon scoffs. “All that matters is to survive.”

Kris Wu decides he likes Joowon. He likes his drive and he likes his humour. It pains him to see him go in the morning, but he allows the Ranger to go, and plant his flowers across the valley, until he disappears into the mountains beyond Kris Wu’s reach.

RouRou gushes over the blue flowers that blossom during the next season for many years to come. Kris Wu becomes the War Lord Joowon deserves.

Three hundred and ninety-eight years before Baekhyun Byun is born, Iron Lord Suho requests an audience with Kris Wu.

Kris Wu’s valley has grown since the passing of Joowon Byun. His people are no longer a collection of cabins, but a town. He still kills whoever attempts to defy him, and he still protects those who choose to remain by his side. He has taken lovers, but RouRou is the only one he truly trusts. By now, they get news from other places, other settlements, other kingdoms.

War Lords like him are getting wiped out by Iron Lords— Risen who think themselves to be righteous and good, protectors of what’s left of Humanity.

Iron Lord Suho is their youngest brethren, an idealist convinced that he can achieve peace with Kris Wu before having to kill him and take his people with him. He has a smile that could rival the sun, with a heavy armour decorated with motives of wolves. Kris Wu grants him his audience— allows him to speak to him about a place he calls the City, of hope for the future, of a mysterious man who claims to speak for the Traveller, of love for those around him.

Kris Wu watches him from his throne, his long body draped over it lazily, covered in the pelts of wolves just like the one before him that he has slayed himself.

“Lone wolves don’t survive in the wilderness, Suho,” He warns. “What have you come to do here?”

If Suho feels threatened, he doesn’t show it. His bright smile merely grows, eyes glinting. He’s a fierce warrior, and men like Kris Wu don’t intimidate him.

“Because it’s said that you’re a kind one, Kris Wu,” Suho explains. “The blue flowers that cross your valley whisper of your compassion. We need kindness. It’d be a pity to make you go through your last death solely because you’re stubborn, too.”

Kris Wu loves a challenge. He hasn’t had one in a long time— perhaps since Venus. And so, he proposes this to the Iron Lord: they will fight to the death and be reborn by their Ghosts. If Kris Wu loses, he will follow Suho to this City of his. If Suho loses, Kris will take his Ghost and destroy her.

Much to his surprise, Suho accepts.

They fight in the valley. They fight for days, the night catching up to them three times. The Sun guides Kris Wu, while the Void guides Suho. Kris Wu attacks, and Suho defends. They don’t tire, but they’re evenly matched. They cause destruction, but they manage to miss Joowon Byun’s flowers every time. The people of Kris Wu gather to watch them at times, but even they grow wary.

At sunrise of the fourth day, Suho manages a killing blow. Kris Wu is a man of his word, and more than a little impressed, so he orders his people to follow the Iron Lord to what will become the Last City.

He becomes a Guardian that day.

Fifty years before Baekhyun Byun is born, Kris Wu meets Eun.

Much has happened in the centuries in between. Kris Wu has been involved in countless battles and has seen every planet and moon their system has to offer. He has made friends and lost others. He has learnt that he is a Hunter, and he leans into their characteristics. He becomes a spy, he hunts Ahamkaras, he falls in love, he loses love, and he takes up Community Theatre at the insistence of RouRou. He is a legend, and he doesn’t need to be sitting on a throne with wolf pelts to make civilians and Guardians fear him and idolise him. He butts head with the Vanguard often, while the Speaker attempts to appease him.

Eun is the splitting image of Baekhyun, but Kris doesn’t know that yet. Eun is a nomad from outside the Last City, which makes him an outlaw by default. Eun has eyes that shine wildly, a penchant for violence, a love for chaos, and an undeniable charm that has Jeonghie Byun, the equally fierce middle Byun child of this time, falling in love with him. The Byuns have long stopped being Rangers, instead becoming scavengers— collectors, if you ask the Vanguard. They will marry quickly, and they have one child, who they will name Joon.

But before any of that happens, Kris Wu is approached by Eun openly in the bazaar.

“You must be _the_ Kris Wu,” Eun says as a greeting, and Kris Wu will think many years in the future that he sounds just like Baekhyun. “I’m a big fan.”

“A big fan?” Kris Wu echoes, because no one has ever told him that before. Eun nods, a big rectangular grin on his face.

“Yes! Your Ghost wrote The Burning Lake: A Forbidden Lunar Love Story, didn’t he? You starred as Hero’s Ghost.” Eun explains, much to Kris Wu’s mounting embarrassment. That had been one of their more… Sexually charged plays. RouRou had been going through a phase. It’s hard to tell if Eun is being earnest or is mocking him, but Kris Wu isn’t a coward, and he is proud of his art.

“Yes, I did do that.” Eun’s grin grows, as if that had been the answer he wanted. Kris feels as if he has walked into a trap, but Eun doesn’t actually do anything with the information.

“Oh, how I enjoyed it,” Eun continues praising. “You know, though, you’d truly benefit from some musical tunes. They can really get across messages that dialogue can’t— not that it’s lacking in any way! But truly, music can only make things better.”

Eun prattles on and on about music, humming melodies that he thinks Kris might easily remember, and incorporate in their plays. Kris Wu listens, because Eun is charismatic, and has a way to make a one-sided conversation interesting enough.

In the grand scheme of things, it’s a meaningless exchange. But there are many things that are meaningless, and that Kris Wu remembers with much more clarity than those that mean something. He can recall vividly one time Yixing found a cat by the Tower, naming it Luobo, only to never see the calico creature ever again. He can’t recall the colour of Kris, his daughter’s, eyes, nor the sound of her voice.

“This is my favourite lullaby,” Eun mentions, and begins singing. “ _I’m on the Moon, it’s made of cheese_.”

“It’s very grim, for some reason,” Kris Wu remarks. He still remembers the song. He isn’t sure of what becomes of him for it.

Fourteen years after Baekhyun Byun is born, Kris Wu meets him at last.

The boy has pretty light auburn hair, is growing still into his body, wearing armour that’s still too big on him but that he’ll grow into as well. He reminds Kris Wu of a puppy, but a sad one, because he’s crying and covered in blood.

“Thank the Traveller you’re here,” The Byun boy sighs, gesturing to the wounded body of his brother. “Please, help him. My dad—”

Kris nods, feeling anger in molecule of his body. He doesn't like it when children were put in danger. He is reminded of Venus, of Jinju, of Kris, in a way that he hasn’t felt in many ages. He knows the Byuns indoctrinate their kids early, but this one triggers a response to protect at all costs. The Byun boy’s voice cracks when he tells Kris what has happened, and Kris places a hand over the crown of his head, because this is a child. This is a child that Joon Byun has endangered, that the Vanguard has endangered, that the Last City has endangered—

Kris is still a cruel man.

“And what good will _you_ , a mortal boy who shouldn’t even be here in the first place, do to _help_?”

The fire in the Byun boy’s expression, the way he had darkened, haunts Kris for over a year. He thinks of that moment often, of the sheer wilderness and fury in the teenager’s eyes. He thinks about it so much, that he gets into his biggest row with the Vanguard yet, over their use of civilians when Guardians exist and can protect them and shouldn’t be risking people who can’t come back to do anything dangerous. Even as a War Lord, he protected those who accepted his protection. The Byun boy, he argues, should have been allowed to choose who he wanted to be, rather than become a scavenger— a profession that, Kris Wu is certain, will kill him.

He encounters that fury again when they meet in the bazaar. Kris Wu is stricken by the familiarity of the situation, but instead of Eun’s eager and yet unreadable grin, he’s staring down at the Byun boy’s incandescent eyes.

Even then, Kris yearns.

“You don’t even know my name, do you?” The boy asks with hardly concealed condescension.

 _Tell me the name of my downfall,_ Kris Wu thinks quietly.

“It’s Baekhyun, Guardian Kris Wu. Baekhyun Byun.”

“I won’t forget that, Baekhyun.”

Kris Wu becomes Kris, the mentor then.

Twenty years after Baekhyun Byun is born, Kris realises something has changed between Baekhyun and he.

Baekhyun is no longer a boy, but it might be too generous to call him a man just yet. He makes Kris remember many people of the past. He’s a firecracker, like Venus. He’s sensitive, like Jinju. He’s not afraid to speak to Kris as an equal, like Kris once did. He has a drive and a humour similar to that of Joowoon Byun. He can be as cryptic as Eun before him.

But he’s nothing like them, at the same time. Baekhyun is brave, Baekhyun is clever, Baekhyun is curious, Baekhyun is sweet, Baekhyun is defiant, Baekhyun is cheerful, Baekhyun is moody. Baekhyun becomes someone Kris trusts wholeheartedly but is worried for at every turn— the man finds trouble like he gets paid for it. It drives Kris up the wall, because he wishes to keep Baekhyun from the world, yet can’t imagine a better travelling companion. Kris hasn’t seen a better shot than Baekhyun since Yixing, but their bickering also leaves him out of sorts every time. Baekhyun pushed every boundary Kris has put throughout the centuries, until being the Kris Wu, former War Lord, means absolutely nothing, and Kris is left to be Wu Yifan again, lost in a mountain.

He confesses the name to Baekhyun. They’re in Sao, the moon merely rock under their feet. Baekhyun doesn’t even have to ask for it. Kris offers himself willingly.

The smile Baekhyun gives him means the world to Kris, to Kris Wu, to Wu Yifan, to Yifan.

“You have no secrets left now,” Baekhyun tells him, and it’s humorous, but there’s truth to it. “I’m happy.”

Kris is happy too. Kris falls in love and becomes troubled.

Twenty-five years after Baekhyun Byun is born, Baekhyun decides he has had enough.

He knows nothing of the strife Kris has been going through, for five years— coming to terms that he has lived for four hundred and ninety-nine years, but never has he felt more alive than when he is with Baekhyun. That Baekhyun is mortal and young, and that their relationship should be forbidden, should be wrong, should not happen. That Baekhyun is a butterfly, beautiful and ultimately short-lived. That Kris will give in, and Baekhyun will die, and he will be alone once more. That Baekhyun deserves more than the cruel man Kris is, was, will be. Kris cannot help but to make Baekhyun feel small. Baekhyun isn’t like the Kris Wu Yifan once knew— he hasn’t lived in that cruel world. He withers under Kris’s scolding, and he blooms under his praise.

Kris Wu has always thought he’s not a coward. Baekhyun proves him wrong.

The kiss is sweet and tender and is forever seared into Kris’s mind and heart. He pushes Baekhyun away, even if he still holds him close. He knows how Baekhyun will react. He must savour every second. It feels good enough that Kris reconsiders, Kris thinks he could do it, Kris must not reject him.

Baekhyun is also a cruel man. He gives Kris no time, no forgiveness, but perhaps Kris doesn’t deserve it.

“Stay away from me, Guardian!”

Kris becomes heartbroken.

Twenty-seven years after Baekhyun Byun is born, Kris watches him fall in love with someone else.

Chanyeol Park is a Titan— the kind of Sunbreaker Humanity would have followed anywhere, in the times of Wu Yifan. He’s noble. He’s cocky. He’s strong. He’s sweet. Most importantly, he does what took Kris five years to reject in only two weeks. Kris hates to think of how well-suited they are.

Chanyeol Park isn’t cruel. He isn’t harsh. He isn’t a War Lord. He’s eager to please and entranced by Baekhyun— as he should be, Kris often thinks. Baekhyun returns to his former self, whenever they’re together. The trouble that Baekhyun seems to bring with him doesn’t really ruffle Chanyeol Park’s feathers like it does Kris, frazzling his nerves, but rather, he takes it in stride. He matches Baekhyun’s energy perfectly. He wants to showcase him to the world, make him shine brighter.

Kris understands that Chanyeol Park is the better choice. He wishes he could spare them both the pain of what’s to come. He wishes that Chanyeol Park doesn’t count his life like Kris does— before and after Baekhyun. When Baekhyun goes missing, Kris knows instinctively what has happened, and he wishes he remembers Chanyeol Park, because it will make him happy.

When he has Baekhyun in front of him again, as a Guardian, a Hunter just like him, he feels foolish. But he knows better now, than to take anything for granted. He takes the chance before it slips through his fingers.

Kris Wu becomes a mentor, again.

Five months after Baekhyun Byun is reborn, Kris sees black, black clouds. There is one single Pyramid here, in Titan. He feels terror when he looks up at it. By his side, Baekhyun stares at the Pyramid like it fascinates him.

“The end of the world looks a lot like the beginning of it,” Baekhyun mentions, eyes meeting Kris’s own. “Don’t you think so?”

He is Wu Yifan in a mountain, staring up at the Darkness. He is the Kris Wu in Titan, staring up at the Darkness.

He looks back at Baekhyun. Baekhyun’s hair is black now, to match the shadows in his eyes. He’s all sharp angles and soft features. Baekhyun remembers everything— so when their gazes meet, it feels complicated and stifling. Kris barely had time to enjoy Baekhyun the Guardian before Baekhyun Byun, his Skulking Fox, was back. It’s better now, even if he can see how Baekhyun’s eyes shine with stars.

They’ll never leave, he knows now.

“You’re humming,” Baekhyun remarks. Kris blinks.

“What am I humming?” He asks.

“That lullaby,” Baekhyun replies, cocking his head to the side. “You know. _I’m in the Moon_ …”

“… _It’s made of cheese._ ” Kris finishes. “Your grandpa taught me that one.”

“He taught me, too.” Baekhyun comments, and they fall silent again. The Pyramid brings a thunderstorm with it.

“Chanyeol is waiting for me,” Baekhyun says after a while.

“Is he still mad?”

“If he is, he’s gonna have to get over it,” Baekhyun huffs, but he smiles to himself, as if it amuses him. Baekhyun gets a rise out of seeing Chanyeol irritated, mostly because he’s never the cause nor the receiver of that ire. “We knew this was gonna happen. What we need to do is survive, now.”

Kris has always admired those who wish to survive. He hasn’t lost that desire yet, that will. Five hundred and two years later and counting. Baekhyun is the same as him.

“Then we better get going,” Kris suggests, grumbling. “This Moon is lost.”

“Yeah,” Baekhyun agrees, a bit sadly, but resigned. “Let’s go, Yifan.”

At the edge of everything, with the man that he loves but has let go, Kris wonders for the very first time about Yifan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I felt like doing a little character study on Kris. The ending is not a spoiler :)


	4. we are pawns no more

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A baby speaker attempts to save a baby weapon thief.

Listen to me, okay? I’m supposed to speak, so do us all a favour, sit down, and _listen_.

Good. Thank you. Look, I get it— I don’t want to be here any more than you do. And the visions were killing me with guilt. I could’ve kept going, you know? The Emperor wouldn’t have killed me. He would have worshipped me, like he worships the Darkness that has corrupted him, because imagine being able to speak to the Darkness _and_ to the Light. That power is immense.

So, _yes,_ I could’ve never looked back. I don’t mind being the plaything of a Cabal. I’ve done that before. Opulence doesn’t sound so bad. But I chose to stay. Why?

If I had to describe to you what I see— there are strings, all around us. These strings come from the Black Needle. You know who that is, don’t you? You must. It’s the Missing Piece to All Puzzles! The Witch-Queen! Sa—

—I won’t speak her name. Don’t make me. But her strings are everywhere, and they manipulate.

Some Guardians are untouched by them. Virtuousness and Light flow off them in waves. They are blessed, meant to never stray from a luminous path. Her strings curl up and dissolve before they can even wrap around their limbs. Chanyeol is like that. Surely you’ve seen him. Red hair? Very tall? Fire of Sol in his eyes? One of the Traveller’s most favoured child, he is.

Other Guardians tether on the edge. They’re tempted by the strings, they hover over them— stray strands just waiting for the right moment to weave between their fingers and claim them for the Witch-Queen’s influence. They fight their nature, every day.

And a few, the unlucky few, can hardly move without looking like— like marionettes. My heart goes out to them. Their minds and souls are tamed by destruction and resentment. Oh, how they’d shine if they could somehow control the Darkness that wishes to Take them, or better yet— completely free themselves from it, so they’re not corrupted any longer.

Baekhyun Byun is like that. _You_ are like that.

Why? Why what? Oh. See, it’s like this—

The Traveller has chosen you all, hand-picked, and given you the Light and the free will to do whatever you see fit with it. She wishes her children blossom and accepts when it doesn’t go according to plan, because the beauty of the Light is that— growth.

The Darkness— it doesn’t choose, like that. It doesn’t seek out. Creatures flock to it and it Takes at random, destroys at random, because it doesn’t matter. Its end goal is consuming the Light. It doesn’t _care_ for anything else. And it will tell you as much. You hear it speaking to you, don’t you?

It calls itself your salvation. It whispers in your ear of how you can survive this, if you just— give the Light away. Submit yourself. Give in.

But see, at the same time, it doesn’t need to bargain with you. It thinks you’re a threat. It thinks you can turn the tide on a cosmic war.

The Black Needle is jealous. She only wishes the Darkness would speak to her the way it speaks to you. In a way, her strings interfere and have saved you from further damnation.

I have been watching you this whole time, as Guardian Sunhee and Chanyeol worked in Io to unravel the— interference. I watched as strings let go of you one by one, and you were finally free. And worlds ended all around us. The Pyramids succeeded.

Why did you go to Europa? All worlds are ours, but Europa. Why would you heed its call?

No, no, don’t go— I get it! I do! It’s impossible not to listen, right? You’re the other side of my coin, now. It why I came back to the Last City. It’s why you went into that Garden, too, wasn’t it? These forces… They use us like toys. But one child takes care of them. The other loves to destroy them.

Maybe I’m not getting through to you. This power— your Ghost can’t get you back from it. Poor Toronto. Why would you do that to her? She’s so scared for you. Your friends. The Sun! They all need you and want you back.

No, Baekhyun— Baekhyun is _different_. Don’t make that comparison. Baekhyun has travelled timelines to get to this point, to get to this _balance_. Baekhyun is the— have you played chess? Baekhyun is our Queen. The Traveller is our King. _You_ are a Bishop, like me. We travel on different tiles, but trust me, we can—

—You are not listening! Why do you have to be so stubborn? This power will destroy you. It will betray you. Come back to the Light. The Traveller begs of you.

Who am I to say what the Traveller says?

Well.

I am the Speaker.

Come back, my child. If the heart you fear is your own, speak to me. And let me go while you’re at it. 

Put that Ziggurat down—

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This is just a quick cryptic thing I created so you know I’m not dead, I have tons of ideas, and lots of gameplay to go through to deliver the best story I can to you!! This is a new sort of thing for me. These two characters have been talking to me about what their stories are for a while, but I was struggling with it a lot. In the end, I decided to make it simple.
> 
> Any theories on who they are? It’s pretty obvious IMO! It’s also set in the future, so don’t worry just yet! :)


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